SENATE. 


59th Congress, 

1st Session. 







A 




'i 


j Document 

| No. 65. 


BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


L E T T E E 

> 

FROM 

THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, 

TRANSMITTING 

\ 

COPY OF A LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE GEOLOGICAL 
SURVEY FORWARDING REPORT PURSUANT TO RESOLUTION. 


December 12, 1905.—Referred to the Committee on the Geological Survey and ordered 

to be printed. 


Department of the Interior, 

Washington , December 11, 1905. 

Sir: 1 am in receipt of Senate resolution of the 7th instant: 

That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he hereby is, directed to furnish to the 
Senate a report on the progress of the investigation of the black sands of the Pacific 
slope, authority for which was included in that section of the sundry civil act 
approved March 3, 1905, which provides for the preparation of the report on the 
mineral resources of the United States, and his opinion as to whether or not this 
investigation should be continued. 

In response thereto I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy 
of a letter from the Director of the Geological Survey forwarding 
the report indicated in the above-mentioned resolution and to state 
that in my judgment the work of the investigation of the black sands 
of the Pacific slope should be continued and adequate appropriation 
made therefor. 

Very respectfully, E. A. Hitchcock, 

Secretary. 

The President of the Senate. 


Department of the Interior, 

United States Geological Survey, 

Washington , D. C ., December 9 , 1905. 

Sir: In response to the resolution of December 7, 1905, of the 
Fifty-ninth Congress, I have the honor to report that in the sundry 


t i ■ :» 5 . , • ) . 

















M 


2 


BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 



civil act approved March 3, 1905, providing for the preparation of 
the report on the mineral resources of the United States, the Geo¬ 
logical Survey was directed to include an investigation of methods of 
extracting the mineral values of the black sands of the Pacific slope. 


REASON FOR THE INVESTIGATION. 

The immediate necessity for this investigation is due to the scarcity 
of platinum in the United States, occasioned by the Russo-Japanese 
war. It is not likely that this scarcity can be relieved without per¬ 
sistent investigation, covering considerable time, but it already 
appears probable that a supply of platinum sufficient for the needs of 
the United States can be developed in this country, and that the pro¬ 
duction of this valuable metal will not be limited merely to the Pacific 
■Coast. 


METHODS USED. 

In accordance with the act referred to, the Survey at once sent a cir¬ 
cular (Exhibit A) to all the placer miners of the United States (about 
8,000), inviting them to send to the Geological Survey samples of the 
heavy sands collected in placer gold mines. More than 1,000 such 
placer miners promptly responded with samples, which were at once 
assayed for gold and platinum. Further, these samples were scru¬ 
tinized closely to detect the presence of various other minerals which 
have become industrially useful within the last five years. Among 
them are chromic iron ore, for the manufacture of paints; chrome 
steel and bichromate of potash; monazite and zircon, for the manufac¬ 
ture of incandescent gas and electric lights; magnetic iron ore, for the 
manufacture of steel, and especially tantalite and columbite, which 
have recently become very valuable in incandescent electric lighting. 


RESULTS. 


By reason of the prompt responses from the placer miners it was 
possible to examine sands from 3-1 States and Territories. It was 
quickly recognized that the distribution of valuable minerals in these 
sands is vastly greater than had previously been supposed. In addi¬ 
tion to the useful minerals mentioned, considerable supplies were indi¬ 
cated of such valuable minerals as corundum, cinnabar (quicksilver 
ore), tin ore, garnet, and others. It was found that platinum occurs 
at many localities where its presence had not been suspected, and the 
majority of the specimens were found to contain gold in appreciable 
amount which it had been impossible to extract, either because the o-old 
is very finely divided (“flour gold”) or because it is coated with iron 
oxide or other materials which prevent amalgamation (rustv or black 
gold). 

In order to determine whether these valuable minerals could be 
extracted at a profit, a number of concentrating machines of the best 
types were assembled at Portland, Oreg., for Portland proved the 
most central point for collecting the necessarily large quantities of 
these sands, and during the dry season, when the placer miners could 
not work, they could assemble at the exposition and note the results 
obtained. The Geological Survey retained Prof. Robert H. Richards 


• * 
m. a « 


15 JAN 190G 
D. of D. 




BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


3 


dean of the mining school of the Massachusetts Institute of Tech¬ 
nology and the principal authority on ore concentration, for a study 
of the extraction of these minerals. 

It was quickly found that from 95 to 98 per cent of the gold and 
platinum could readily be extracted from the black sands simply by 
concentration on tables of the Wilfley, Finder, Christonsen, and Wood¬ 
bury types. It had been expected that the sand would require prepara¬ 
tion for these tables by a special machine known as the hydraulic 
classitier, but this machine proved unnecessary, inasmuch as the sands 
of the sea beaches and the heavy sands from sluice boxes, from which 
the valuable ingredients, such as tine gold, rusty gold, and the useful 
minerals alluded to above, could not possibly be separated proved to 
be in the best condition possible for separation on tables. The rail¬ 
road companies of the West cooperated by free transportation of many 
carloads of sands to the Survey’s plant at Portland. 

These concentration experiments attracted very much more atten¬ 
tion than was expected from the placer miners. Concentrating 
tables had never been used in placer mining to any extent, but several 
hundred mines are now being equipped with machines of this charac¬ 
ter. Several thousand miners visited the concentrating work during 
the summer, and they were generally convinced that these methods 
would apply to some sands, but not necessarily to their own; therefore 
many of them asked and received permission to submit samples of 
their sands as soon as the rainy season would afford water for col¬ 
lecting them. As the minimum amount of sand necessary for such 
concentration was 100 pounds, and many of these mines are located 
from 50 to 100 miles from a railroad or even a wagon road, the miners 
went to much expense to collect samples. During September, and 
especially October and November, these samples were arriving much 
more rapidly than they could be examined. A detailed statement of 
the results thus far obtained in the investigation is shown in the 
accompanying printed reports, Exhibits B and C. 


EXHAUSTION OF FUND. 


The appropriation, designed to last till the close of the exposition in 
Portland, was made to last six weeks longer, and when exhausted, at 
the end of November, sands from more than 2,000 localities had been 
examined. Two preliminary reports were published. Copies of these 
have not only been sent to the mining companies interested, but have also 
been posted in every post-office in every county where placer mining is 
carried on. But sands from not more than one-third of the mining locali¬ 
ties interested in this investigation had been examined at all, and there 
now remain at the plant more than 80 tons of samples, the investigation 
of which can not be completed without further appropriation. More 
than 600 localities are represented by these 80 tons of sand. Further, 
the placer miners of the West are sending in every day, at their own 
expense and without authorization from the Government, more sam¬ 
ples than can be examined. This is due to the great desire to have the 
information on these sands available for the winter’s mining. 


UTILIZATION OF BY-PRODUCTS. 

It was found in the course of the examination that much larger sup¬ 
plies of high-grade magnetic iron ore could easily be made valuable 


4 


BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


by concentration of this character from the sands of the Pacific coast 
beaches and from waste magnetic iron ore from the sluice boxes of 
placer mines. This addition of wealth would be great if suitable means 
for smelting these sands could be found, notwithstanding the high 
prices of fuel on the west coast and the prejudice against these sands 
on account of their finely divided character. On the other hand, the 
abundance of water power on the coast has developed electric power 
at very low rates at many points. To determine whether electric 
smelting of these ores is practical or not advantage was taken of a 
recent comprehensive report by the Canadian government. With the 
cooperation of the Portland Chamber of Commerce an electric smelter 
was built from materials obtained principally on the spot, and steel of 
good quality was made directly from the ore, with as high an efficiency 
as 18 pounds of steel per horsepower-day, an efficiency equal to the best 
electric-smelting practice in foreign countries where such processes 
have become established. 

NECESSITY OF EXTENDING THE WORK. 

Thus it appears to be extremely desirable not to interrupt this valu¬ 
able investigation during the present winter. There is little doubt 
that it will lead, within two years, to an addition of from two to fiye 
millions of dollars to the output of the placer gold mines of the West, 
in addition to an adequate supply of platinum and the allied metals, 
osmium and iridium, and to the development of valuable industries at 
man} 7 points in the West to handle the by-products which this examina¬ 
tion shows to be present in these sands. This addition to the wealth 
of the country will be distributed over every State and Territory west 
of the Missouri River, and will be equally valuable to the placer 
mines of the Southern Appalachian States, and to many undeveloped 
placer regions in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and other lake States. 

At this date the plant is idle, but is kept in readiness, so that it can 
be started at a day’s notice. The least appropriation for which this 
work can be carried on from the present time till the 1st of June will 
be $25,000. If this plant is abandoned and its location changed, the 
estimated cost of reestablishing the plant next summer would be an 
additional $8,000, which would be saved by work during this winter. 

I therefore earnestly recommend that suitable legislation be promptly 
enacted to provide $25,000 for the continuance of this work. 

The following reports are appended: 

Exhibit A.—Circular sent to the placer miners. 

Exhibit B.—First preliminary report of progress. 

Exhibit C.—Second preliminary report of progress. 

Exhibit I).—Statement of the property acquired by the Geological 
Survey which is available for continuing this investigation. It includes 
a fully equipped assay laboratory besides the concentration apparatus 
given in detail. 

Exhibit E.—A statement of the expenditures which have been made 
in this work. 

Very respectfully, Chas. D. Walcott, 

Director. 

The Secretary of the Interior. 


BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


5 


Exhibit A. 


Department of the Interior, 

United States Geological Survey, 

Washington, I). C., March 21, 1905. 

Dear Sir: Within the last few years much inquiry has been made concerning 
various minerals occurring in the heavy sands (so called “black sands”) which col¬ 
lect in the riffles in placer mining. The Geological Survey has therefore undertaken 
an exhaustive examination of all the minerals contained in the placer deposits of the 
United States. 

It is proposed to collect the heavy sands from all placer mines in the United States 
where evidence of platinum has been found by preliminary tests. The samples thus 
obtained will be used in determining the best methods of extracting the various 
minerals which have economic value. It is hoped that, in many places, the separa¬ 
tion and sale of these useful minerals, such as magnetite, chromite, garnet,unonazite, 
rutile, topaz, zircon, gold, platinum, iridosmine, etc., will become a permanent and 
profitable industry. 

As a preliminary step in this investigation, you are cordially invited to mail to this 
office, using the accompanying tag, which requires no postage, not more than four 
pounds of material most likely to contain platinum in your placer deposit. This 
material will be carefully examined, and you will be duly notified of the results. It 
is suggested that you concentrate the gravel as well as you can before mailing it, care 
being taken not to lose any heavy material. You should carefully note on the pack¬ 
age, or in a letter accompanying it, or both, the total quantity of original gravel 
which your concentrate represents, in order that a general idea may be obtained of 
the value of your gravel for the purposes under investigation. 

After an examination of these preliminary samples, experts will be sent to all locali¬ 
ties where preliminary tests give promise of any useful mineral in profitable quantity. 
The expert will report on the size of the deposit and superintend the collection of rep¬ 
resentative samples for concentration. 

Concentration experiments will probably be carried out in connection with the 
exhibits of mining machinery at the Lewis and Clark Centennial at Portland, Oreg., 
between June 1 and October 15 of this year. 

I shall appreciate all information which you can give as to any efforts previously 
made to separate platinum from your sand, or from other sands in your neighbor¬ 
hood, and as to the quantity of platinum produced in your district. Each package 
of sand should be accompanied by exact information as to the name and post-office 
address of the sender, the name of the mine or claim from which it came, and the 
State, county, city, village, or district in which the deposit' is located. 

On account of the increased demand for platinum, it is the intention of this office 
to examine also the localities where experience has made it probable that platinum 
ores may profitably be looked for in place. The inclosed tags can therefore be used 
also for sending in specimens of ores likely to contain platinum and associated metals. 

Great care should be used to pack the sand securely for transmission through the 
mails.’ It is preferable to sew up the sand tightly in a canvas bag, and tie the tag, 
which requires no postage, carefully to the package. The sand should be dry when 
mailed. 

On request, additional postal franks will be sent to you. 

No specimens will be examined unless the above information is given in regard to 
the exact locality from which the samples have been obtained. 

The accompanying information in regard to platinum may be of interest to 


prospectors. 

Very respectfully, 


Charles D. Walcott, Director. 


PROPERTIES OF PLATINUM. 

Pure platinum is a silvery white metal with a specific gravity of 21.5. It is the 
heaviest metal occurring in nature with the exception of iridosmium. It is almost as 
hard as iron and very malleable. Platinum does not amalgamate with quicksilver, is 
not dissolved by potassium cyanide when cold, is not attacked by acids, except the 
mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid, known as aqua regia. It is more diffi¬ 
cult to melt than gold. 

Native platinum has been found most frequently in gold-bearing sands. On account 
of its weight it remains in the sluices with gold and other heavy material. 



BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


6 


Platinum is most readily distinguished as follows: (1) By its great weight—-in pan¬ 
ning it remains behind even gold in the pan; (2) its white color—it is whiter than 
lead and is distinguished from amalgam by its smooth surface, whereas the surface of 
amalgam, as seen under a good glass, is rough; (3) its resistance to nitric acid, as com¬ 
pared with native silver or lead. 

Native platinum is usually very impure; occasionally it contains so much iron, 
chromite, and other impurities as to be dark in color and not easily distinguished 
from grains of chromite, with which it is very frequently associated. It often contains 
iridosmine, which occurs as flat, angular scales, while platinum grains are usually 
rounded like gold dust. Generally platinum grains are smaller than gold grains. 
Large nuggets are very rare. 


DISTRIBUTION OF PLATINUM. 


Platinum has been found in America in the following localities: 


Locality. 

County. 

Value of 
platinum 
per ton of 
concen¬ 
trated 
sands. 

Value of 
platinum 
contained 
for each 
dollar in 
gold. 

CALIFORNIA. 




Chico. 

Butte. 

$5.46 

$0.08 

Magalia. 

.do. 

. 30 

.01 

Oroville. 

.do. 



Mokelumne Hill. 

Calaveras. 

.02 

.002 

Crescent City. 

Del Norte. 

.04 

. 17 

Smith River. 

.do. 

.54 

.07 

South Fork Smith River. 

.do. 

618. 31 

.02 

Wilson Creek. 

Humboldt. 

.02 

.08 

Stone Lagoon (beach). 

.do. 



China Flat. 

.do. 

177.08 

1.38 

Orleans. 

.do. 

6.87 

.50 

Gold Bluff beach north of 

.do. 



Areata 




Little River beach. 

Mendocino. 



Michigan Bluff. 

Placer. 

.34 

.01 

Genesee. 

Plumas. 

.06 

Trace. 

Beach. 

San Luis Obispo.. 



Santa Barbara beach. 

Santa Barbara.... 



Lompoc beach. 

.do. 



Santa Cruz beach. 

Santa Cruz . 



Bee Gum district. 

Shasta. 



Sawvers Bar. 

Siskiyou. 

2.30 

.31 

Oak Bar. 

.do. 

.54 

.12 

Fort Jones. 

.do. 

.07 

.001 

Klamath River. 

.do. 

2.40 

.51 

Rock Ranch . 

.do. 

. 51 

.26 

Callahan. 

.do. 

7.02 

1.34 

Hornbrook. 

.do. 

.18 

.06 

Happy Camp. 

.do. 

50.97 

1.48 

Cecilville. 

.do. 

2. 01 

. 14 

Beegum. 

Tehama. 



Trinity Center. 

Trinity. 

.28 

.79 

Burnt Ranch. 

.do. 

13.09 

1.04 

Big Bar. 

.do. 

3. 75 

. 11 

Junction Citv. 

.do. 

1, 934.18 


North Fork. 

.do. 


Hawkins Bar. 

.do. 

4.05 

.34 

Hay Fork district. 

.do. 



Camptonville. 

Yuba. 

.32 

.04 

OREGON. 




Denmark. 

Curry. 

. 15 

. 18 

Pistol River beach. 

.do. 

.06 

.08 

Port Orford. 

Coos. 



Mouth of Rogue River.. 

Currv. 



Yaquina beach. 

Lincoln . 



Near Grants Pass. 

Josephine. 




Kerbv. 

Waldo 


.do 

.do 


Remarks. 


Found frequently i n 
dredging operations. 


Has yielded platinum in 
commercially appreci¬ 
able quantity. 


Platinum is very fine 
grained. 

Has yielded platinum. 


Promising locality. 
Do. 

Do. 

Very fine grains. 
Promising district. 


Do. 


Plentiful. 

Platinum contains much 
iridosmium. 


(Average.) 

Yielded in commercial 
quantity. 

Very promising. 

Sands inferior. 

Reported. 

Plentiful. 

Promising locality. * 















































































































BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE 


7 


Locality. 

County. 

Value of 
platinum 
per ton of 
concen¬ 
trated 
sands. 

Value of 
platinum 
contained 
for each 
dollar in 
gold. 

IDAHO. 

Snake River from Bakersville 
to Lewiston. 

MONTANA. 

Miles Citv. 

Nez Perces. 



Custer. 



NEW YORK. 

Plattsburg. 

Clinton. 



NORTH CAROLINA. 

Rutherford. 



GEORGIA. 

Lumpkin.. 



PENNSYLVANIA. 

Lancaster . 



Sassamansville. 

Montgomerv. 



WYOMING. 

Rambler mine, Rambler dis¬ 
trict. 

ALASKA. 

Beach north of Lituya Bay... 

Albany. 






CANADA. 

Eastern townships of Quebec . 

Riviere des Plantes. 

St.LawrenceRiver 

Beauce district, 
Quebec. 

Bonaventure. 





Riviere du Loup. 



Sudburv.*.. 

Ontario. 



Similkameen River. Tula- 
meen River, Granite Creek, 
Valley of Slate Creek. 
Caribou district. 

British Columbia. 



.do. 



Fraser Canyon, near Yale_ 

.do. 



MEXICO. 

Las Yedras mine. 

Sinaloa. 



CENTRAL AMERICA. 

Cholotea. 

Honduras. 



Gracias. 

.do. 



WEST INDIES. 

Yaqui River. 

Santo Domingo... 



SOUTH AMERICA. 

Minas Geraes(Rio|dasVelhas). 
Boa Esperanca. 

Brazil. 



.do. 



Congo Seco. 

.do. 



Aicoupai, on Hamelin Creek.. 
Cartagena. 

French Guiana... 



Colombia. 



El Choco district (Atrato and 
San Juan provinces). 

.do. 







Remarks. 


Platinum occasionally 
found. 


Reported. 


One nugget found in 1880. 


O^e nugget found in 1847. 


Reported. 


Platinum detected in 1852. 
Detected, but no quantity. 


Platinum (and probably 
palladium as arsenide) 
in place, and obtained 
from copper matte. 


Reported. 


Discovered middle of last 
century. 

Few minute scales dis¬ 
covered. 

Do. 

In place, as arsenide. 
Richest platinum pro¬ 
ducer in Canada. 

Prospecting being carried 
on. $383,000 accredited 
1885-1888. 

Reported. 

Dredging operations be^ 
gun. 


Reported. 


Reported. 

Do. 


Platinum grains discov¬ 
ered. 


Well-known locality. 
Reported. 

Do. 

Nugget found in 1861. 
Discovered in 1735. 
Principal South American 
productive district. 



































































8 


BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


Exhibit B. 

Black Sands of the Placer Mines of the United States. 

[By David T. Day.] 

INTRODUCTION. 

The last Congress authorized an investigation of the values contained in the black 
sands of the placer mines of the United States, to be made under the supervision of 
the Director of the United States Geological Survey. The details of the investiga¬ 
tion up to the present time are given in the present report. 

As a preliminary the following circular letter was sent to all the placer miners 
known in the United States, about 8,000 in number: 

Department of the Interior, 

United States Geological Survey, 

Washington , I). C., March 21, 1905. 

Dear Sir: Within the last few years much inquiry has been made concerning 
various minerals occurring in the heavy sands (so-called “ black sands ”) which col¬ 
lect in the riffles in placer mining. The Geological Survey has therefore undertaken . 
an exhaustive examination of all the minerals contained in the placer deposits of the 
United States. 

It is proposed to collect the heavy sands from all placer mines in the United States 
where evidence of platinum has been found by preliminary tests. The samples thus 
obtained will be used in determining the best methods of extracting the various min¬ 
erals which have economic value. It is hoped that in many places the separation 
and sale of these useful minerals, such as magnetite, chromite, garnet, monazite, 
rutile, topaz, zircon, gold, platinum, iridosmine, etc., will become a permanent and 
profitable industry. 

As a preliminary step in this investigation you are cordially invited to mail to this 
office, using the accompanying tag, which requires no postage, not more than 4 
pounds of material most likely to contain platinum in your placer deposit. This 
material will be carefully examined and you will be duly notified of the results. It 
is suggested that you concentrate the gravel as well as you can before mailing it, care 
being taken not to lose any heavy material. You should carefully note on the pack¬ 
age, or in a letter accompanying it, or both, the total quantity of original gravel 
which your concentrate represents, in order that a general idea may be obtained of 
the value of your gravel for the purposes under investigation. 

After an examination of these preliminary samples, experts will be sent to all 
localities where preliminary tests give promise of any useful mineral in profitable 
quantity. The expert will report on the size of the deposit and superintend the col¬ 
lection of representative samples for concentration. 

Concentration experiments will probably be carried out in connection with the 
exhibits of mining machinery at the Lewis and Clark Centennial at Portland, Oreg., 
between June 1 and October 15 of this year. 

I shall appreciate all information which you can give as to any efforts previously 
made to separate platinum from your sand, or from other sands in your neighborhood, 
and as to the quantity of platinum produced in your district. Each package of sand 
should be accompanied by exact information as to the name and post-office address 
of the sender, the name of the mine or claim from which it came, and the State, 
county, city, village, or district in which the deposit is located. 

On account of the increased demand for platinum, it is the intention of this office 
to examine also the localities where experience has made it probable that platinum 
ores may profitably be looked for in place. The inclosed tags can therefore be used 
also for sending in specimens of ores likely to contain platinum and associated 
metals. v 

Great care should be used to pack the sand securely for transmission through the 
mails. It is preferable to sew up the sand tightly in a canvas bag and tie the tag, 
which requires no postage, carefully to the package. The sand should be dry when 
mailed. 

On request, additional postal franks will be sent to you. 

No specimens will be examined unless the above information is given in regard to 
the exact locality from which the samples have been obtained. 

The accompanying information in regard to platinum may be of interest to pros¬ 
pectors. 

Very respectfully, Charles D. Walcott, Director. 


BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


9 


PROPERTIES OF PLATINUM. 

Pure platinum is a silvery white metal with a specific gravity of 21.5. It is the 
heaviest metal occurring in nature with the exception of iridosmium. It is almost 
as hard as iron and very malleable. Platinum does not amalgamate with quicksilver, 
is not dissolved by potassium cyanide when cold, and is not attacked by acids, except 
the mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid known as aqua regia. It is more 
difficult to melt than gold. 

Native platinum has been found most frequently in gold-bearing sands. On 
account of its weight it remains in the sluices with gold and other heavy material. 

Platinum is most readily distinguished as follows: (1) By its great weight—in 
panning it remains behind even gold in the pan; (2) its white color—it is whiter 
than lead and is distinguished from amalgam by its smooth surface, whereas the 
surface of amalgam, as seen under a good glass, is rough; (3) its resistance to nitric 
acid, as compared "with native silver or lead. 

Native platinum is usually very impure; occasionally it contains so much iron 
chromite and other impurities as to be dark in color and not easily distinguished 
from grains of chromite with which it is very frequently associated. It often con¬ 
tains iridosmine, which occurs as flat angular scales, while platinum grains are 
usually rounded like gold dust. Generally platinum grains are smaller than gold 
grains. Large nuggets are very rare. 

LABORATORY WORK. 


SAMPLES RECEIVED. 


From the miners addressed, 828 samples of black sand have thus far been received 
for investigation. These samples come from the following States and Territories, 
and from British Columbia, Central America, and Mexico: 


Alabama. 

Alaska. 

Arizona. 

British Columbia. 
California. 

Central America. 
Colorado. 

Cuba. 

Georgia. 

Idaho. 

Indian Territory. 
Indiana. 


Iowa. 

Kansas. 

Mexico. 

Mississippi. 

Missouri. 

Montana. 

Nebraska. 

Nevada. 

New Mexico. 
New 7 York. 
North Carolina. 
Ohio. 


Oklahoma Territory. 

Oregon. 

Pennsylvania. 

South Dakota. 

Texas. 

Utah. 

Vermont. 

Washington. 

West Virginia. 

Wisconsin. 

Wyoming. 


This shows more general interest in the matter of obtaining additional useful values 
from black sands than had been anticipated. 


ASSAYS FOR GOLD AND PLATINUM. 


Of the samples received, 195 specimens have been assayed for their contents of 
gold and platinum, w 7 ith the result that platinum has been found in samples from the 
following localities: 

Gold and platinum contained in black-sand concentrates from various placer-mining dis¬ 
tricts, by States and counties. 


Number of sample. 


Ounces per ton 
of concentrate. 


State and county. 


District. 


ARIZONA. 


Gold. 


Plati¬ 

num. 


D 5007 No. 2 

D 5010 . 

D 5008 . 


Yavapai 
....do.. 
_do .. 


Columbia.... 
Granite Creek 
Walnut Grove 


0.79 
Trace. 
Trace. 


0.06 

Trace. 

Trace. 


D... 
D 8 
D 26 


CALIFORNIA. 

Butte. 

....do. 

....do. 


Oroville.. 

Alvarado placer mine, Butte Creek 
Buchanan Hill. 


19.94 
5.22 
1.09 


27.45 
.17 
.08 







































10 


BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE 


Gold and 'platinum contained, in black-sand concentrates from various placer-mining dis¬ 
tricts, by States and counties. —Continued. 


Number of sample. 

State and county. 

1 

District. 

• 

D 29. 

CALIFORNIA—con. 

Butte... 

Peavine Creek. 

D 30. 

.do. 

Empire. 

D 16 . 

Calaveras . 

Wild Goose mine.. 

D 34. 

Humboldt. 

Orleans. 

D 9. 

Mendocino. 

T. 16 N., R. 12 W., sec. 7. 

Rough and Ready Township. 

D 19. 

Nevada... 

D 2. 

Placer . 

Taylor mine, North Fork American 
River, Colfax. 

Southwest of Auburn. 

D 1. 

i 

_.do. 

D 6 . 

Placer 

Gold Run. 

D 11. 

.do. 

Gold Blossom mine, Butcher Ranch min¬ 
ing district. 

American River.:. 

D 23. 

.do. 

D 15. 

Plumas. 

Nelson Creek. 

D 21. 

.do.-. 

Bowlder Nest mine on Grizzly Creek, 
Genesee district. 

Rock Island Hill mine. 

D 32. 

.do . . 

D 40. 

.do . 

Little Grizzly mine . 

D47 No. 1 . 

.do . 

La Porte . 

D 38 . 

San Bernardino . . 

Van Dusen Canyon, Holcomb . 

D 5. 

Shasta . 

Sacramento River, north of Redding, Gem 
mine. 

Gvpsv mine, Shasta district . 

D 14. 

.do. 

D 18 . 

Siskiyou . 

Fox Creek. 

D 22. 

.do . 

Grouse Creek. 

D 36 . 

.do . 

Happy Camp district . 

D 20 . 

Trinitv . 

Junction Citv mining district . 

D 33 . 

.do . 

South Fork and Trinity River . 

D 35 . 

.do . 

T. 5 N., R. 7 E . . 

D 6037 . 

COLORADO. 

Chaffee . 

Buena Vista . 

D 6033 . 

Costilla . 

San Luis Valley . . 

D 6043 . 

Pitkin . 

Junctionof Gunnison, Chaffee, and Pitkin 
counties. 

Pole Creek, Cretone . 

D 6029 . 

Saguache . 

D 6006 . 

San Miguel. 

West of Telluride. 

D 6016 . 

_.do. 

Saw Pit. 

D 4012 . 

IDAHO. 

Bingham. 

West of Blackfoot. 

D 4021 . 

.do. 

West bank Snake River. 

D 4009 . 

Boise.*.. 

Ox Bow tunnel, Pavette River. 

D 4014 . 

.do. 

Gold Fork, North Pavette River. 

D 4010 . 

Elmore. 

Bear Creek mining district, Rocky Bar... 
Baker Gulch, Crooked River. 

D 4029 . 

.do. 

D 4017 . 

Fremont. 

Gem Placer mine, Menan. 

D 4034 . 

Idaho . 

Elk City district. 

D 4023 . 

Shoshone. 

Pierce City. 

D 4030 . 

.do. 

Big Island, North Fork Clearwater River. 
Beaver Butte mining district, Trail Creek. 

Princeton. 

D 4031 . 

D 1004 . 

.do. 

MONTANA. 

Granite. 

D 9006 . 

NEW MEXICO. 

Santa Fe. 

Los Cerrillos. 

D 9008 . 

Lincoln . 

Tecolote Mountains.. 

D 2002 . 

OREGON. 

Baker. 

South of Durkee . 

D 2009, No. 1 . 

D 2009, No. 2 . 

Coos. 

.do. 

Old Ocean Beach, Randolph mining dis¬ 
trict. 

.do. 

D 2009, No. 3. 

.do . 

.do. 

D 2045 . 


Ocean Beach, Whiskey River 

D 2010 . 


Ocean Beach. 

D 2003 . 

Douglas . 

East of Riddle. 

D 2006 . 

.do . 

Co •>' Creek mining district, Glendale 

D 2023 . 

. do . 

Riddle . .. 


Ounces per ton 
of concentrate. 


Gold. 


Plati¬ 

num. 




7.03 

0.83 

.08 

Trace. 

39.08 

.35 

19.00 

4.00 

Trace. 

Trace. 

5. 60 

.52 

29.26 

1.27 

24.14 

1.48 

37. 61 

8.78 

191.60 

3.36 

126.9 

9. 67 

1.45 

.12 

1.44 

.66 

10.80 

.16 

Trace. 

Trace. 

2.98 

.21 

.12 

.06 

.64 

.28 

8. 29 

.25 

.72 

Trace. 

10. 31 

.18 

None. 

.82 

28.43 

25.80 

9.02 

1.28 

4.90 

4.61 

1.99 

.43 

None. 

Trace. 

.05 

.05 

.34 

.06 

.37 

.09 

Trace. 

Trace. 

19 62 

.18 

1.60 

.70 

.52 

.28 

2.02 

.08 

1.10 

.11 

Trace. 

Trace 

Trace. 

Trace. 

1.06 

.05 

.16 

.04 

.16 

.08 

6.40 

Trace. 

1.67 

.05 

Trace. 

Trace. 

Trace. 

Trace. 

9.90 

.22 

1.8 

2.10 

None. 

.91 

.02 

.10 

None. 

.20 

1.25 

6.23 

4.71 

8.59 

.50 

2.25 

19.27 

128.73 









































































































































































BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


11 


Gold and platinum contained in black-sand concentrates from various placer-mining dis¬ 
tricts, by States and counties —Continued. 


Number of sample. 

State and county. 

District. 

Ounces per ton 
of concentrate. 

Gold. 

Plati¬ 

num. 

D 2028 . 

Oregon— cont’d. 

Douglas. 

* 

North Fork Steamboat River .. 

0.18 

0 02 

D 2028, No. 2. 

.do. 

Bohemian mining district_ 

Trace. 

Trace. 

D 2014a . 

Josephine. 

Frv Gulch mine. 

1.88 

4.53 

D 2021 . 


Galice Creek..*. 

None. 

.26 

D 2029 . 

.do. 

Sucker Creek. 

6.53 

. 67 

D 2080 . 

.do. 

Allen Gulch mine, Waldo 

37.30 

.58 

D 2013 . 

.do. 

Covote Creek. 

None. 

Trace. 

D 2025 . 

Linn ...!. 

South Santiam River. 

2.60 

3.52 

D 2001 . 

Union. 

Camp Carson district,Grande Ronde River 

French Creek.•. 

2. 40 

. 12 

D 9504 . 

SOUTH DAKOTA. 

Custer. 

Trace. 

Trace. 

D 15516 . 

UTAH. 

Garfield. 

Colorado River. 

6.36 

.15 

D 15511 . 

Morgan. 

North of Morgan. 

Trace. 

Trace. 





EXAMINATION FOR OTHER MINERALS. 

In addition to the foregoing, 190 samples have been examined to date as to the 
minerals which they contain. Among the many interesting results the existence of 
columbite, tantalite, and other tantalum minerals has been shown in Nez Perces 
County, Idaho. 

The following mineral occurrences other than gold and platinum noted in the 
progress of this investigation and presented here by States and counties are of interest: 

Arizona: 

Pinal County—Magnetite, ilmenite, epidote, zircon, topaz, scheelite, hematite, 
and pyrite. 

Yavapai County—Hematite, magnetite, garnet, diorite, ilmenite, epidote, tour¬ 
maline, pyrite, pseudomorphs, zircon, monozite, and apatite. 

California: 

Butte County—Zircon, rutile, chromite, molybdenite, magnetite, hematite, 
ilmenite, cinnabar, metallic copper, pyrite, actinolite, epidote, biotite, and 
tremolite. 

Calaveras County—Psilomelane, magnetite, hematite, pyrite, epidote, zircon, 
garnet, ilmenite, and rutile. 

Eldorado County—Pyrite, metallic copper scales, magnetite, ilmenite, garnet, 
epidote, zircon, and monazite. 

Humboldt County—Magnetite, hematite, ilmenite, pyrite, cinnabar, chromite, 
garnet, epidote, and zircon. 

Nevada County—Chromite, magnetite, pyrite, hematite, ilmenite, zircon, sider- 
ite, and epidote. 

Placer County—Magnetite, chromite, pyrite, ilmenite, zircon, epidote, and 
garnet. 

Plumas County—Magnetite, ilmenite, quartz with biotite, zircon, pyrite, garnet, 
epidote, pvroxene, and chromite. 

San Bernardino County—Magnetite, hematite, zircon, garnet, epidote. 

San Francisco County—Pvrite and metallic copper scales. 

Shasta County—Magnetite, chromite, epidote, pyroxide, pyrite, zircon, and 
ilmenite. 

Siskiyou County—Magnetite, hematite, pyrite, ilmenite, chromite, zircon, trem¬ 
olite, rutile, and epidote. 

Trinity County—Magnetite, hematite, chromite, manganese, zircon, ilmenite, 
and cinnabar. 

Tuolumne County—Magnetite, rutile, and ilmenite. 

Yuba County—Magnetite, ilmenite, hemaitte, chromite, manganese, and zircon. 


















































12 


BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


Colorado: 

Chaffee County—Magnetite, hematite, and zircon. 

Costilla County—Magnetite, chromite, ilmenite, monazite, and zircon. 

Jefferson County—Magnetite, garnet, hematite, ilmenite, epidote, and zircon. 

Pitkin County—Galena. 

Summit County—Magnetite, ilmenite, hematite, hiibnerite, garnet, limonite, and 
epidote. 

Idaho: 

Ada County—Magnetite, ilmenite, and garnet. 

Bannock County—Magnetite, ilmenite, chromite, zircon, monazite, hematite, 
and manganese. 

Bingham County—Magnetite, ilmenite, zircon, and green pyroxene. 

Boise -County- 1 —Magnetite, garnet, chromite, ilmenite, epidote, monazite, zircon, 
rutile, and hematite. 

Elmore County—Magnetite, hematite, ilmenite, garnet, and zircon. 

Fremont County—Magnetite. 

Idaho County—Ilmenite, monazite, poly erase, rutile, magnetite, titanite, garnet, 
zircon, hematite, pyrite, pseudomorphs, epidote, and cyanite. 

Latah County—Magnetite, garnet, monazite, hematite, and pyrite. 

Lemhi County—Monazite, rutile, hematite, ilmenite, magnetite, zircon, and 
epidote. 

Nez Perces County—Rutile, magnetite, tourmaline, epidote, ilmenite, and 
monazite. 

Payette River County—Monazite, magnetite, ilmenite, garnet, epidote, and 
zircon. 

Shoshone County—Magnetite, hematite, pyrite, garnet, oxidized pyrite, ilmenite, 
monazite, zircon, rutile, columbite, tantalum, cinnabar, and titanite. 

Kansas: 

Marshall County—Manganese ore, garnet, and quartz. 

Montana: 

Granite County—Magnetite, ilmenite, monazite, epidote, wolframite, garnet, and 
zircon. 

Madison County—Hematite, magnetite, garnet, and monazite. 

Missoula Count}^—Magnetite, pyrite, hematite, chromite, and garnet. 

New Mexico: 

Bernalillo County—Magnetite, ilmenite, pyroxene, hematite, garnet, zircon, 
biotite, and epidote. 

Sandoval County—Magnetite, ilmenite, hematite, biotite, rutile, pyrite, epidote, 
and zircon. 

Santa Fe County—Magnetite, hematite, ilmenite, epidote, garnet, and zircon. 

Sierra County—Magnetite, ilmenite, garnet, monazite, zircon, and rutile. 

Oregon: 

Baker County—Magnetite, pyrite, limonite, chromite, garnet, zircon, cassiterite, 
and biotite. 

Clackamas County—Magnetite, hematite, epidote, and ilmenite. 

Coos County—Magnetite, chromite, garnet, zircon, monazite, ilmenite, titanite, 
and epidote. 

Douglas County—Magnetite, hematite, chromite, garnet, ilmenite, zircon, and 
epidote. 

Jackson County—Magnetite, chromite, ilmenite, pyrite, rutile, monazite, epidote, 
zircon, garnet, and hematite. 

Josephine County—Magnetite, chromite, zircon, ilmenite, rutile, monazite, 
pyroxene, and scheelite. 

Lane County—Magnetite, copper ore, hematite, biotite, and chalcopyrite. 

Tillamook County—Magnetite, ilmenite, garnet, pyroxene, chromite, and zircon. 

Union County—Magnetite, ilmenite, biotite, zircon, and titanite. 

South Dakota: 

Custer County—Garnet, ilmenite, rutile, and epidote. 

Lawrence County—Monazite, magnetite, hematite, chromite, and ilmenite. 

Pennington County—Hematite, copper ore, magnetite, garnet, epidote, and 
pyrite. 

Utah: 

Boxelder County—Arsenopyrite and pyrite. 

Garfield County—Hematite, magnetite, ilmenite, garnet, zircon, and monazite. 

Morgan County—Magnetite, ilmenite, biotite, pyrite, epidote, hematite, and 
zircon. 

Weber County—Hematite, magnetite, ilmenite, garnet, and zircon. 


BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


13 


Washington: 

Clarke County—Hematite and magnetite. 

King County—Magnetite, hematite, and chromite. 

Kittitas County—Carnet, hematite, pyrite, magnetite, and epidote. 

Okanogan County—Magnetite, hematite, ilmenite, garnet, zircon, epidote, and 
biotite. 

Stevens County—Magnetite, ilmenite, garnet, monazite, epidote, zircon, rutile, 
and pyrite. 

Wyoming: 

Fremont County—Magnetite, hematite, epidote, garnet, zircon, and ilmenite. 

FIELD WORK. 

During June and July investigations of various placer deposits were carried on. 
A preliminary examination of the occurrence of heavy sands at the mouth of the Colum¬ 
bia River, in Oregon, and on the Washington shore, was made by Doctor Day, who also 
examined the material pumped up by the dredge which the United States Engineer 
Corps has in operation at Pillar Rock, near the mouth of Columbia River. Mr. 
A. H. Gale, assisted by Mr. Earl W. Bachert, was detailed to make a careful exam¬ 
ination of these localities in cooperation with the Astoria Chamber of Commerce, 
which paid the expense of collecting the sands. Five carloads were taken from 
Clatsop Plains, Seaside, Hammond Station, Warrenton, and the dredge at Pillar 
Rock. These were sent to the concentrating pavilion at Portland for practical tests. 

Doctor Day also examined the black sands which occur in the large bar of Colum¬ 
bia River opposite Hood River, Oregon. A carload of sand was collected here and 
is now being further investigated by Mr. J. F. Batchelder. 

After an investigation of the sands at the mouth of the Columbia River, Mr. Gale 
joined Prof. J. F. Kemp at Grants Pass, Oreg., and aided him in the examination of 
the heavy sands found with the placer mines at Leland, Wolf Creek, Grants Pass, 
the Champlin dredge south of Grants Pass, Kirby, Waldo, Smith River, the mouth 
of Pistol River, the mouth of Rogue River, Gold Beach, Bandon, Marshfield, and 
Ophir, Oreg., and at Redding, Shelley Creek, the ocean beach at Crescent City, and 
Oroville, Cal. Professor Kemp, assisted by Mr. Victor C. Heikes, is now engaged 
in a similar examination of placer sands on the Snake River in Idaho. 

Other beach sands were examined by Mr. W. T. Schaller at San Diego, Lompoc, 
Aptos Beach, San Luis Obispo, and in the neighborhood of San Francisco, Cal. 

Mr. H. E. Crain, of Cheyenne, Wyo., has been detailed to collect samples from 
the mines in the neighborhood of Rambler, Wyo., which has already been examined 
by the Geological Survey for platinum. The* object of collecting these large-scale 
specimens from the Rambler region is for the purpose of determining the nature of 
the minerals containing platinum at that place. 

Dr. Joseph Hyde Pratt is investigating the placers of the Yellowstone River near 
Miles City and Helena, Mont. 

WORK AT LEWIS AND CLARK EXPOSITION. 


CONCENTRATION EXPERIMENTS. 


Machinery— Bv courtesy of the Lewis and Clark Exposition Company a pavilion 
100 feet long by 50 feet wide, adjoining the mines building, has been provided for 
the installation of concentrating machinery to carry on full-scale experiments as to 
the best methods of separating the useful minerals in the various specimens of sands 
collected. Prof. Robert H. Richards, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 
is in charge of the experiments. 

Invitations to send full-sized concentrating machines to the exposition for testing 
these sands were sent out several months ago to all manufacturers of concentrating 
machinery in the United States. As a result of this correspondence the following 
machines have been installed: 

The Mine and Smelter Supply Company, of Denver, Colo., erected at its own 
expense a full-sized Wilfley concentrator, and detailed Mr. A. W. Park to carry out 
any and all experiments in the concentration of sands that the Geological Survey 

might direct. . , . „ . . . 

The Joshua Hendy Machine Works, of San Francisco, Cal., installed the Pmder 
concentrator, which is under the personal direction of ( apt. J. W. Pinder, the 
inventor. This company has also a Hendy Challenge ore feeder, which is in charge 
of Messrs. J. Lee Anderson and Spencer Thompson. . 

The Woodbury concentrating table has been installed and is operated by the 
inventor, Mr. George E. Woodbury, of San Francisco, Cal. 


14 


BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


Mr. C. Christonsen, of Oretown, Oreg., installed a Christonsen concentrator, and 
is operating it himself, with Mr. Charles D. Walcott, jr., as assistant. 

A new style of ore muller has been installed, and is operated by the inventor, 
Mr. J. J. Merrill. 

A Wetherill magnetic seperator, type E, of full size, has been loaned by the Weth- 
erill Magnetic Seperator Company, of New York. This machine is arranged to make 
separation of minerals at greater or less magnetic strength, ranging from that fur¬ 
nished by a current of 0.02 amperes to that furnished by a current of 3.5 amperes. 
This is under the direction of Mr. Harmon V. Morse, of Johns Hopkins University. 

Placed next to the magnetic separator is a set of the well-known Imperial ore screens, 
loaned by Mr. John Traylor, of Denver, Colo., and operated under the supervision of 
Mr. A. W. Park, assisted by Mr. Clifford L. Gardiner. 

In process of erection are two hydraulic classifiers, devised by Prof. Robert H. 
Richards. Professor Richards has also installed an amalgamating table and a glass 
table with greased surface, such as are used in the South African diamond mines for 
separating special minerals. 

Arrangements have been completed with the American Concentration Company, 
of Joplin, Mo., for a Knowles magnetic separator for quickly separating magnetic iron 
from black sands. 

A rock crusher and an ore pulverizer are also installed. 

With this equipment it is possible to treat a carload of sand in eight hours. 

Methods of treatment .—Obviously the course of treatment to be used must vary 
greatly with the kind of sand to be treated. 

The sands are grouped in two classes: (1) Sea sands, low-grad 6 gravels, tailings 
from a number of dredges, and middlings from placer workings; and (2) heavy tail¬ 
ings from concentration containing the residue from the clean-up from placer mines, 
etc. The method of treatment so far developed for beach sands and tailings from 
placer mines has been to deliver the sand, after appropriate sampling, to the auto¬ 
matic feeder. It is then elevated to the roof of the building, passing over the Traylor 
screen, and delivered to an automatic distributer, from which it is evenly fed by a 
current of water through four iron pipes to the several concentrating machines. 
These machines separate the sands into three portions—concentrates, middlings, and 
tailings. All the concentrates and middlings are collected, and samples of the tail¬ 
ings taken every five minutes. Samples of these concentrates, middlings, and tail¬ 
ings are dried and then treated by the process devised by Mr. Henry E. Wood, of 
Denver, Colo., by which the sands are first separated bv the magnetic separator by 
five successively increasing currents into six portions, representing the chief miner¬ 
als contained in the sands. These are finally separated by a hand batea. The end 
products thus separated and obtained are magnetite, chromite, garnet, olivine, mona- 
zite, zircon, quartz, gold, and platinum. These minerals are then weighed, and the 
portions representing precious minerals are assayed. 

ASSAY LABORATORY. 

An assay laboratory has been installed and is now complete. This laboratory, 
which occupies a space of 20 by 20 feet in the mines building proper, which has been 
courteously supplied for this purpose by the Lewis and Clark Exposition Company, 
is in the immediate charge of Mr. Frederick W. Horton, of the Massachusetts Insti¬ 
tute of Technology, chief assistant to Prof. Robert FI. Richards, who directs the 
operation of the concentrating plant. Assisting Mr. Horton are Mr. G. H. Shadinger, 
of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore; Mr. Amos Loveland, Mr. Northrop Daw¬ 
son, Mr. F. H. Hazard, and Mr. L. G. Gillett, of Colorado Springs, Colo. 

Here the following apparatus, partly lent and partly purchased of the F. W. Braun 
Company, of San Francisco, Cal., and of Messrs. Eimer & Amend, of New York City, 
has been installed: No. 40 Braun’s combination crucible and cupelling furnace, with 
complete blowpipe apparatus and Cary hydrocarbon burner; the necessary crucibles, 
cupels, scorifiers, fluxes, etc., and weighing devices supplied by Eimer & Amend, of 
New York City, including very fine pulp and button balances.* The last-named firm 
has also supplied a small electric furnace and electric hot plate. All the necessary 
chemicals and apparatus for making simple mineralogic determinations are found 
here. 

In addition to being assayed, many specimens of concentrates from the various 
quantities of sands in process of treatment are run through a small glass classifier. 
This classifier, devised and made by Prof. Robert H. Richards, has 24 spigots and is 
capable of grading any material fed into it into as many different products, according 
to the settling power of each individual grain. The settling columns are of glass, 
thus allowing the operator to see just what is taking place in each column, and ena¬ 
bling him to regulate the machine with great precision. Samples of sand which, on 


BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


15 


account of their small bulk, can not be concentrated to advantage on the concen¬ 
trating tables are put through this classifier and finished by batea, and their values 
are thus successfully saved. 

RESULTS. 

The following results have been obtained by concentrating the black sand: 

Forty pounds of black sand received from Placer, Josephine County, Greg., yielded 
oversize on 10-mesh screen, 18 pounds, 9 ounces, which yielded 18.754 grams of gold 
nuggets. The undersize, through a 10-mesh screen, weighing 21 pounds, 5 ounces, 
yielded 11.6 grams of nugget gold. The total weight, 25.354 grams, would be worth, 
if pure, $16.84, giving a value per ton of $842. 

Another interesting run of the black sands was from the residue from a clean up of 
dredging operations from Rockpoint, Oreg., which weighed 468.6 pounds, and con¬ 
tained quicksilver, amalgam, and gold. The oversize, through 10-mesh screen, was 
2231 pounds and yielded 3.992 grams of gold; the undersize was 243 pounds and gave 
15.270 grams of gold, making a total yield of nugget gold of 19.262 grams. This, if 
pure, would be worth $12.71, or the residues were worth $54.20 per ton. 

Sea sand taken from near Fort Stevens, Oreg., at the mouth of the Columbia River, 
yielded the following results in pounds per ton of 2,000 pounds on one of the con¬ 
centrating tables, supplemented by the magnetic machine and by panning the samples: 

Remits of concentrating sea sand from near Fort Stevens , Oreg. 

[Pounds per short ton.] 


Mineral obtained. 

In the 
lot fed. 

In the 
No. 1 con¬ 
centrate. 

In the 
No. 2 con¬ 
centrate. 

In the 
tailings. 

Magnetite. 

683. 0 

572.0 

44.6 

66.79 

Chromite and ilmenite a. 

163.0 

150.0 

9.44 

3.06 

Garnet. 

227.0 

61. 5 

29.6 

135.5 

Monazite. 

.85 

.36 

.42 

.07 

Zircon. 

5.32 

4.91 

.01 

.40 

Quartz. 

288.0 

.97 

2.86 

284. 3 

Other minerals b . 

483.0 

5. 71 

5.71 

471.7 

Gold and platinum c. 







a This product may prove by analysis to be mainly ilmenite. 

b This product includes all the minerals that could not be separated into distinct groups. 
c A satisfactory figure for publication has not yet been obtained. 

September 9, 1905. 


Exhibit C. 

Second Preliminary Report on Investigation of Black Sands. 

Dr. David T. Day, of the United States Geological Survey, who has spent the past 
summer in investigating the black sands of the Pacific slope, has submitted to the 
Director of the Survey a second preliminary report on the progress of his work. 

The first report contained an account of the minerals found in the various samples 
of sand. 

The second report reviews the experiments in concentration that have been con¬ 
ducted at the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition at Portland, Oreg., with the 
view of ascertaining the most economical means of separating the useful minerals 
already enumerated in the first report of progress. Experiments have shown that 
the sands of the seashore and the sands from sluice boxes and placer mines have 
been arranged or classified by the action of the water. The size of each grain of 
sand is, therefore, inverse to its specific gravity—that is, the less its specific gravity 
the larger the grain of sand. It has also been shown that machines of the Wilfley 
type do very effective work in further separating these special mixtures of grains of 
sand. Two sharp conclusions have been established: (1) That 95 to 98 per cent of 
the precious metals, gold and platinum, are obtained in the first inch and a half on 
the surface of a Wilfley table; (2) that more than a ton of. concentrates is obtained 
for every 100 tons of sand passed once over the table. 

It should not be supposed that the enormous values per ton that are frequently 
shown in these results mean a new discovery of that much gold where it was not be¬ 
fore suspected. This is not the case. Gold was known to be there, but no success¬ 
ful method of extracting it had been devised, and it normally went to waste. 






















16 


BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


Sands from the mouth of Columbia River furnished the material for the first experi¬ 
ments in concentration. The Astoria Chamber of Commerce requested an examina¬ 
tion of these sands and cooperated to the extent of paying the cost of sacking the 
sands and putting them on cars. Mr. A. H. Gale, geologist, of the Survey, was 
accordingly dispatched to make a reconnoissance from the Oregon side, of all the 
different sands at the mouth of Columbia River. The condition of the beach sands 
found in this region was as follows: 

The field investigated extends from Fort Stevens, at the mouth of Columbia River, 
southward 18 miles to Tillamook Head, a large mass of basaltic rock which juts out 
into the Pacific Ocean. On the east the sands are bounded by a clay ridge, which 
connects with Tillamook Head and extends gradually northeastward, reaching 
Columbia River at Astoria. This irregular ridge of clay slopes gently westward 
under the beach sands, so that from this ridge toward the ocean the clay soil becomes 
sandier, until a few hundred yards from the beach a series of high sand dunes, well 
covered with wood, are reached, and are succeeded farther west by the ordinary 
sands of the present beach. The region between the sand dunes and the clay region 
is known as Clatsop Plains. The area thus comprised in the triangle extending from 
Tillamook Head northeastward to Astoria, thence northwestward to Fort Stevens, 
and returning by the beach to Tillamook Head is divided into Clatsop Plains 
between the clay ridge to the east and the sand dunes on the western border, the 
sand dunes themselves, and the present broad, flat ocean beach. 

In the region known as Clatsop Plains there is, as a rule, little variation in the 
sand, except that it increases in clay toward the east. The sand of the ocean beach, 
on the contrary, varies greatly in its characteristics. It is very black at the northern 
edge—that is, from Hammond station to Fort Stevens—and becomes lighter in color 
toward the south, being light gray at Nekanakum River. From Nekanakum River 
to Tillamook Head the sands become greenish, and within a mile of Tillamook Head 
the beach is very narrow and is composed largely of basaltic bowlders with little 
sand. At Moore’s Hotel, about 1 mile from Tillamook Head, a carload sample was 
taken just above high-water mark, where the beach is about 300 feet wide and where 
it is made very green by the presence of olivine and other decomposed portions of 
the original basalt. 

Minerals contained in concentrates from beach and river sands per ton. 



1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

» 

8. 


Pounds. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

Magnetic iron ore. 

63.440 

1.213 

3.080 

. 9200 

14.525 

62. 911 

643.559 

13.889 

Ilmenite. 

47. 720 

.558 

.701 

.8389 

2. 581 

24.543 

171.392 

3.367 

Garnet. 

12.160 

29. 749 

3.740 

118.9351 

3. 658 

30.458 

174.478 

131.308 

Monazite. 

.108 

.105 

.012 

1.3601 

.096 

.984 

.800 

.100 

Zircon. 

.150 

.008 

.501 

.1880 

.130 

.789 

5.016 

2. 400 


Cents. 

Cents. 

Cents. 

Cents. 

Cents. 

Cents. 

Cents. 

Cents. 

Gold and platinum. 

9.1 

43.4 

.3 

.06 

1.3 

6.0 

53.0 

2.4 


1. From Moore’s Hotel Seaside. 

2. From Gearhart Beach. 

3. From West station. 

4. From Carnahan station. 

5. From Warrenton station. 


6. From point 150 feet north of Hammond rail¬ 

road station. 

7. From 1,500 feet west of Hammond railroad sta¬ 

tion at high-water mark. 

8. From bottom of Columbia River at Pillar Rock. 


A small sample was taken from Gearhart Beach, farther north, above high-water 
mark. A third sample was taken from a cut at the side of the railroad station near 
Carnahan station, a fourth at West station on the Astoria and Columbia River Rail¬ 
road. A carload of sand was procured at Warrenton, another 150 feet north of 
Hammond railroad station, another 1,500 feet west of this station, on the line of the 
beach in the direction of Fort Stevens. Finally, for comparative purposes, a sample 
was taken from the bottom of Columbia River, beneath the swift-flowing current in 
the neighborhood of Pillar Rock. This sample was obtained in the course of the 
work of the dredge William II. Ladd. These samples were concentrated on four 
types of tables, those of Wilfley, Woodbury, Christensen, andPinder. The minerals 
contained in the concentrates were then separated by a magnetic machine, which 
gave the results shown in the above table. 

It became evident at an early stage of the concentration experiments that the 
sands could be separated very efficiently on concentrating tables, such as the well- 
known Wilfley concentrator or the Pinder concentrator, the Woodbury modification 



























BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 17 

of the Wilfley table, or the new type of concentrating table recently developed by 
Mr. Christensen and used for the first time in these experiments. 

It is well known that the minerals most easily concentrated on such tables are 
those which have been first put through a hydraulic classifier, a device which has 
the effect of putting together large grains of light minerals and small grains of 
heavy minerals. It was found by examination of the sea sands under investigation 
that wave action had already classified them, as described above. 

It was also found that the action of water currents in sluice boxes affected these 
sands in the same way, and the sands which sluice boxes had failed to separate were 
best suited for separation on the concentrating tables. This investigation has there¬ 
fore shown that sands which can not be separated in sluice boxes can be separated 
by mechanical devices tnore easily than can ordinary gravels. From 95 to 98 per 
cent of the gold and platinum contained in the black sands are concentrated within 
a space of an inch and a half, or less, on the upper edge of the concentrating table. 

Such results had also been obtained in work along the same direction by Mr. 
Henry E. Wood, of Denver. These results in concentration have been applied in the 
examination of the beach sands on the Oregon side of the mouth of Columbia River. 

A lot of one-half ton of the sand from the beach about one mile due west of Car¬ 
nahan station was fed to three of the concentrating tables and divided into concen¬ 
trates and tails. The original concentrates obtained were run over the tables again 
and reconcentrated. The first inches of the material as spread out on the table 
were divided off as No. 1 concentrates. The next 3 or 4 inches were taken as No. 2 
concentrates, and the remainder went as tailings. The concentration of the gold 
and platinum thus effected is shown by the following assays. The original sand as 
fed to the table assayed 6 cents per ton. The No. 1 concentrates assayed $6.14 per 
ton, showing the ratio of concentration of gold and platinum values compared to the 
original sand of 102 to 1. The No. 2 concentrates assayed 52 cents per ton, with a 
ratio of concentration compared to the original sand "of 9 to 1. Another sample 
from the same neighborhood showed the following concentration results: 


Concentration of gold effected by mechanical tables on sand from the Pacific beach. 


Material. 

I. 

II. 

Weight. 

Assay 
per ton. 

Ratio 
of value. 

Weight. 

Assay 
per ton. 

Ratio 
of value. 

Original feed... 

Rerun feed. 

Pounds. 
4,089.00 

$0.21 

1.00 

Pounds. 
3,690.0 
92.0 
1.0 

4.5 

5.5 
81.0 

3,598. 0 

$0.003 
.120 
8.040 
.397 
. 085 
Trace. 
Trace. 

. 1 

40 

2,647 

132 

28 

Rerun No. 1 concentrates. 

Rerun No. 2 concentrates. 

Rerun No. 3 concentrates. 

7.25 
202. 75 

14.55 

1.74 

09.30 
8.30 

Rerun tailings. 

None. 



Original tailings. 

3,879.00 

.08 

.38 



The sample marked “II” was taken from a railroad cut 30 feet deep, which is situated 
1,000 feet north of West station, at the mouth of Columbia River. This sample was 
taken from the first 10 feet in depth and is of particular interest, as it shows the 
remarkable concentration of value which may be effected by rerunning or reconcen¬ 
trating original concentrates. In this case the original feed to the concentrating tables 
weighed 3,690 pounds and assayed $0,003 per ton. This was first divided by the 
tables into 92 pounds of original concentrates and 3,598 pounds of original tailings. 
These tailings were practically free from gold, as may be seen from the accompany¬ 
ing table. 

The original concentrate (rerun feed) was next reconcentrated on one of the tables 
and divided into four products—Nos. 1, 2, and 3 concentrates and the tailings. While 
the original concentrates were only 40 times as rich as the original sand, the rerun 
concentrates were 2,647 times as rich and, although only 1 pound in weight, these 
contained two-thirds of the gold which went onto the table. The No. 2 rerun con¬ 
centrates were 132 times as rich as the original sand and, weighing 4.5 pounds, con¬ 
tained practically all the remaining gold. This means that practically all the gold 
contained in 3,690 pounds of sand was concentrated in 5.5 pounds, and of these 5.5 
1 pound contained two-thirds the gold. This remarkable concentration certainly 
speaks well for the recovery of gold and platinum values in sand by means of con¬ 
centrating tables. 

S. Doc. 65, 59-1 


2 
































18 


BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


Sand from a box in Columbia River near mouth of Hood River , Wasco County, Grey. 


Material. 

Serial number, P122a. 

Serial number, P122b. 

Serial number, P122c. 

Weight. 

Assay 
per ton. 

Ratio 

of 

value. 

Weight. 

Assay per ton. 

Weight. 

Assay 
per ton. 

Ratio 

of 

value. 

Feed of original sand.. 

Concentrates No. 1. 

Concentrates No. 2. 

Tailings. 

Pounds. 

1,296.0 

7.0 

45.0 

1,244.0 

$0.320 
21.850 
.060 
.054 

1.00 
68.30 
.19 
.17 

Pounds. 
888.0 
2.5 
34.0 
851.5 

Trace of gold. 

$0.380 
Trace of gold. 
Trace of gold. 

Pounds. 
2,168.0 
25.5 
216.0 
1,930.5 

$0. 018 
.302 

1.00 

16.80 

.015 

.83 



Concentration results with heavy concentrates from hydraulic mine at Gcdice , Josephine 

County, Greg. 

SERIAL NUMBER, P129A. 


[Weight of original sample, 195.5 pounds.] 



Weight. 

Assay per 
ton. 

Courser than J mm ... 

Pounds. 

119.5 

$30.38 

Concentrates No. 1. 

18.5 

a 207. 61 

Concentrates No. 2. 

98.0 

( b ) 

Tailings .'. 

3.0 

Through £ mm ... 

76.0 

7.84 

Concentrates No. 1. . 

5. 5 

c99.22 

Concentrates No. 2. 

45.8 

.078 



SERIAL NUMBER, P129B. 


[Weight of original sample, 352 pounds.] 


Coarser than 2 mm. screen. 

50.5 

344.36 

Concentrates No. 1. 

14.0 

888.40 

Concentrates No. 2. 

26.5 

.15 

Tailings. 

6.0 

1.82 

Through 2 mm. screen. 

228.0 

215.69 

Concentrates No 1— 

Magnetic. 

57.0 

199.26 

Nonmagnetic. 

5.5 

7,611.60 

Concentrates No. 2. 

23.5 

8.41 

Tailings. 

142.0 

2.48 

Through £ mm. 

73.5 

98.39 

Concentrates No. 1. 

21.0 

385. 00 

Concentrates No. 2. 

40.5 

1.31 

Tailings. 

12.0 

41.34 



a 13.5 pounds of concentrates, worth $207.61 per ton, are equivalent to $32.14 per ton on the original 
material fed, with greater yield than is shown by the original assay. 
b Trace of gold. 

cThis concentration is equivalent to obtaining in the 5.5 pounds of first concentrates $7.18 per ton 
out of the total of $7.84 per ton contained in the material fed to the table, or is equivalent to obtain¬ 
ing 0.92 per cent of the total gold in the sample in the 5.5 pounds of No. 1 concentrates. 


Composition, per ton , of heavy black-sand concentrates from placer mine at Ashland, 

Jackson County, Greg. 


[Serial number, P13.] 

Magnetite. 

Chromite. 

Garnet. 

Monazite. 

Zircon. 

Quartz. 

Gold and platinum. 


Pounds. 

1,181.00 
2. 00 
370.00 
34. 00 
66. 00 
344. 00 
$0.15 
















































































BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 19 


Composition, per ton, of heavy black-sand concentrates from Jacksonville, Jackson County, 

Oreg. 


[Serial number, P19.] 


Magnetite. 

Garnet. 

Monazite. 

Zircon. 

Ilmenite and chromite 
Gold and platinum ... 


Pounds. 
1,463. 00 
Trace. 

4.14 
296. 60 
$74. 00 


Composition, per ton, of heavy concentrates from Toronto, Canada. 


[Serial number, P21.] 


Magnetite. 

Ghrorne iron ore .. 

Garnet. 

Monazite. 

Zircon. 

Gold and platinum 


Pounds. 

561.00 
218. 00 
818. 00 
13.00 
21.00 
$230. 78 


Composition, per ton, of concentrated black sand from Meadows, Washington County, Idaho. 


[Serial number, P25.] 


Magnetite. 

Chromite. 

Monazite. 

Zircon. 

Quartz. 

Garnet. 

Gold and platinum 


Pounds. 

629. 40 
564.10 
123. 80 
392. 50 
232. 50 
Trace. 
$9.64 


Composition, per ton, of concentrates from Gearhart Beach, Clatsop County, Oreg. 


[Serial number, P26.] 


Magnetite. 

Garnet. 

Gold and platinum 


Pounds. 
1.00 
29. 00 
$0. 434 


The greater part of the sand consisted of olivine, quartz, and mixed grains of 
various minerals. 


Composition, per ton, of heavy sand remaining after clean-up of concentrates from deep 

mining at Marysville, Yuba County, Cal. 


[Serial number, P27.] 


Magnetite. 

Chromite and ilmenite 

Garnet. 

Olivine. 

Monazite. 

Zircon. 

Quartz. 

Gold and platinum ... 


Pounds. 
562. 00 
122. 00 
10. 70 
176. 00 
Trace. 

3.00 
714. 00 
$0. 97 


Composition, per ton, of concentrates from Hood River Beach, Wasco County, Oreg. 

[Serial number, P28.] 

Pounds. 


Magnetite. 995.00 

Chrome iron and ilmenite. 174. 50 • 

Garnet. 221.00 

Olivine. 287.00 

Monazite. '5-00 

Zircon. 16.50 






































20 


BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


Composition, per ton, of concentrates from Arnett Creek and Camp Creek, Leesburg 

Basin, Idaho. 

\ 

[Serial number* P31.] 

Sample A, from Arnett Creek: Pounds. 

Magnetite. 959. 60 

Chromite. 832. 80 

Garnet. r . 116. 80 

Monazite. .45 

Zircon. 1.55 

Gold. $86. 81 

Sample B, from Camp Creek: 

Magnetite. 1, 290. 00 

Chromite. 474. 20 

Garnet. 55. 99 

Olivine. 14. 00 

Zircon. .60 

Gold. Trace. 

Sample C, from Ward’s Gulch: 

Magnetite.*. 747. 90 

Chromite. 859. 00- 

Garnet . 128.70 

Monazite. 5. 54 

Zircon. 60. 89 

Quartz. 73. 00 

Gold. $43. 54 

Sample D, from Richardson Brothers: 

Magnetite... 433.20 

Chromite. 477. 20 

Monazite. 10. 89 

Quartz. 65. 33 

Gold. $2. 69 

Sample E, from placer diggings: 

Magnetite. 1,939.00 

Chromite..... .91 

Garnet. 4. 20 

Monazite. .50 

Zircon. .86 

Quartz. 8.00 

Composition, per ton of black sand from Clatsop Beach, Oregon. 

[Serial number, P32.] 

Pounds. 

Magnetite. 537.50 

Chromite. 43. 50 

Garnet. 137.00 

Monazite. .43 

Zircon. .61 

Quartz. 54.80 

Composition, per ton, of concentrates from hydraulic mining in Sutter Creek, Josephine 

County, Oreg. 

[Serial number, P34.] 

Pounds. 

Magnetite. 1,146.00 

Chrome iron and ilmenite. 673. 00 

Zircon. 24. 69 

Quartz. 11. 50 

Gold and platinum. $275. 91 











































BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


21 


Composition , per ton, of black sand from Carson City, Ormsby County, Nev. 


[Serial number, P35.] 

Magnetite. 

Garnet. 

Chromite. 

Monazite. 

Zircon. 

Quartz. 

Gold. 


Pounds. 
1, 387. 00 
41.90 
485. 60 
29. 47 
21.32 
9. 08 
$7. 44 


Composition, per ton, of black sand from Boise, Ada County, Idaho. 


[Serial number, P36.] 


Magnetite 
Chromite 
Garnet .. 
Monazite 

Zircon_ 

Quartz ... 
Gold .... 


Pounds. 
26. 40 
200. 80 
709.10 
219. 60 
231. 40 
579. 40 
• $1.03 


Composition, per ton, of black sand from Wallowa, Wallowa County, Or eg. 


[Serial number, P37.] 


Magnetite 
Chromite 
Garnet... 
Monazite . 
Pyrite 
Quartz ... 
Gold. 


Pounds. 


59. 00 
9. 30 
175. 00 
.67 

610. 60 
630.50 
$2.25 


Composition, per ton, of black sand from Gold Beach, Carry County, Cal. 

[Serial number, P46.] 


Pounds. 

Magnetite. 584. 60 

Chrome iron and ilmenite. 82. 00 

Garnet.1... 206. 00 

Monazite. .50 

Zircon. 5. 00 

Quartz. 500. 00 

Gold .................. $0. 783 


Concentration of above sample. 


' 

Weight. 

Assay 
value per 
ton. 

Original material. 

Pounds. 

107 

30 

$0.78 
2.66 
.04 
.04 

Concentrates No. 1. 

Concentrates No. 2.i. 






/ 















































22 


BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


Composition, per ton, of black sand from Shoshone, Lincoln County, Idaho. 


[Serial number, P40.] 


Magnetite 
Chromite 
Garnet .. 
Monazite . 
Zircon 
Quartz .. 
Gold_ 


Pounds. 

174. 80 
15.17 
80. 67 
26. 34 
46. 09 
1,441.00 
$26. 33 


Composition, per ton, of black sand from Seattle, King County, Wash. 


[Serial number, P60.] 


Magnetite 

Chromite 

Garnet ... 

Monazite 

Zircon 

Quartz ... 

Gold 


Pounds. 
10. 82 
.28 
9. 26 
1.18 
1.48 
1,635. 00 
$0. 31 


Composition, per ton, of black sand from Portland, Multnomah County, Oreg. 

[Serial number, P61a-b.] 


Sample A: Pounds. 

Magnetite. 10. 95 

Chromite. 50. 78 

Garnet. 15. 43 

Monazite. .43 

Zircon. 12. 42 

Quartz. 1,757.00 

Gold and platinum... 

Sample B: 

Magnetite. 3. 89 

Chromite. 31. 46 

Quartz.. 1,864. 00 

Gold and platinum... $0.11 


It has become evident, in the course of this investigation, that gold so fine that it 
will pass through a sieve of 150 meshes to the inch can be saved with great ease on 
the tables. 


Exhibit D. 


PROPERTY CONNECTED WITH BLACK-SAND PLANT. 

1 Wetherill magnetic separator, type E. 

1 Wilfley concentrator, laboratory type. 

1 revolving drier, capacity 20 tons. 

Ore bins, capacity 50 tons. 

Settling tanks, capacity 100 tons. 

Panning tank, platform scales. 

8 mm., 2 mm., and \ mm. mechanical screens, capacity 10 tons per day. 

Electric steel smelting furnace, complete. 

25 extra carbon electrodes for furnace. 

Automatic pipe distributing apparatus to all machines on pavilion, capacity 60 tons 
per day. 

1 hydraulic classifier of 24 tubes, type A, capacity 500 pounds per day. 

1 hydraulic classifier, type B, capacity 20 tons. 

1 hydraulic classifier, type C, capacity 50 tons per day. 




























BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE 




1 set amalgamating plates. 

1 set Gem-separating plates, South African type. 

1 Nevada mill. 

1 power-jaw crusher. 

1 mechanical truck for distributing samples, capacity h ton. 

2 wheelbarrows. 

2 blowpipe outfits. 

32 iron buckets. 

1 gasoline burner for assay furnace. 

1 Cory assay furnace, complete. 

3 sets of screens, from 20 to 200 mesh. 

7 evaporating dishes. 

1 pair forceps. ~ 

1 funnel. 

5 hammers. 

3 alcohol lamps. 

1 mortar and pestle. 

1 pouring mold. 

68 pans. 

13 shovels and rake. 

1 set rules and other drawing appliances. 

Scales for fine assaying. 

Trip scales. 

7 brass appliances for magnetic separator. 

Iron stands, rings, and clamps, and other laboratory apparatus. 

6 magnifying glasses. 

1 microscope, complete. 

1 set weights. 

Shafting, pulleys, and belts for connecting up the concentrating machines. 
Office furniture: 

6 desks. 

4 sets bookshelves. 

7 laboratory tables. 

Electric-lighting fixtures. 

Dark room for special work. 

2,000 running feet shelving. 

15 chairs. 

Card catalogue cabinets and file cabinets. 

2,000 glass jars. 

2,000 scoritiers. 

1,000 cupels. 

200 fire-clay crucibles. 

6,000 100-pound ore sacks. 

2,000 10-pound canvas sacks. 


Loaned. 

1 Pinder concentrator, capacity 15 tons per day. 

1 Christonsen concentrator, capacity 30 tons per day. 

1 Wilfley concentrator, capacity 15 tons per day. 

1 set Traylor’s automatic screens, capacity 60 tons per day. 

1 Hendy automatic elevator, capacity 100 tons per day. 

1 Hendy Challenge automatic ore feeder, capacity 100 tons per day. 

1 Knowles New Century magnetic separator, capacity 2 tons. 

10 dynamos, various sizes, for operating all machinery. < 

Electric wiring, water piping, and water supply for all concentrating machines. 
Water supply and plumbing for chemical laboratory. 


24 


BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


Exhibit E. 

Distribution of expenses of black sand investigation. 


Field work. $5, 200. 00 

Concentrating experiments. 13, 021.16 

Assaying. 2, 600. 00 

Chemical analyses. 800.00 

Determination of minerals. 600. 00 

Electric smelting. 1, 400. 00 

Computations. 1, 600. 00 

Office correspondence. 2, 200. 00 


Total... 27,421.16 


Expenses of black sand, investigation , March 3, 1905 , to November 30, 1905 (part of 

November an estimate). 


Quarter ending— 

Supplies. 

Pay. 

Machin¬ 

ery. 

Power. 

Travel¬ 
ing ex¬ 
penses. 

Tele¬ 

graph 

and 

tele¬ 

phone. 

Ex¬ 
press- 
age and 
freight. 

Total. 

March 31,1905. 





$215.42 
286.75 
2,594.74 

3, 569.37 


• 

$215.42 
950.54 
9,348. 70 

16,906.50 

June 30,1905 . 

$74. 39 
1,468.57 

2,888.19 

$585.00 
4,335. 97 

8,372. 27 



$4.40 
3.25 

7.94 


September 30,1905 . 

Unfinished quarter to 
November 30,1905. 

Total. 

$096.97 

1,350.26 

$92.00 

$249.20 

626.47 

4,431.15 

13,293.24 

2,047.23 

92.00 

6, 666.28 

15. 59 

875. 67 

27,421.16 




o 















































59th Congress, 
1st Session. 


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, j Report 

) No. T. 


BLACK SANDS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 


December 18, 1905. — Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed. 


Mr. Brown, from the Committee on Mines and Mining*, submitted the 

following 


REPORT. 


[To accompany H. Res. No. 73.] 


The Committee on Mines and Mining of the House of Representa¬ 
tives having had under consideration House resolution No. 73 report 
the same back with recommendation that it do pass. 

The resolution recpiests the Secretary of the Interior “to furnish 
Congress a report on the progress of the investigation of the black 
sands of the Pacific slope, authority for which was included in that 
section of the sundry civil act approved March 3, 1905, which provided 
for the preparation of the report on the mineral resources of the United 
States, and for his opinion as to whether or not this investigation should 
be continued.” 

The Government has been carrying on under an appropriation made 
by the last Congress an investigation of the black sands of the United 
States with a view to discovering what valuable minerals were con¬ 
tained in these sands and whether their economical separation was prac¬ 
ticable, etc. In carrying on this investigation a plant was established 
at Portland, Oreg. Manufacturers of mining machinery contributed 
most of the necessary machinery, and work was continued until the 
exhaustion of the fund quite recently. The plant is still located at 
Portland, in good order, and there is at this time some 80 tons, con¬ 
sisting of about 600 samples of these sands, now at the plant awaiting 
treatment. 

In this condition of affairs, particularly in view of the fact that the 
reports which have been made in this investigation seem to indicate that 
the black sands of many parts of the country carry considerable quan¬ 
tities of platinum, zircon, columbite, and chrome iron, garnet, and other 
minerals of value, and that these minerals can be cheaply separated, it 
is deemed best to call upon the Secretary of the Interior for a report 
as to the progress already made in this work and his opinion as to 
whether or not the investigation should be continued. 


O 


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15 JAN 190P 

D. Of Dr 







